Nefand
Nefand was a human man, and resident of the Black City. Nefand and his half-brother Ulito were the two sons of Quen and stepsons of Afen, a respected sorcerer. Nefand's biological father is unknown, as Quen was extremely lecherous. Early life Afen was too embarrassed to disown Nefand or Ulito, so he raised them in his house, even after Quen left. Nefand was the older brother, and it was expected of him to learn sorcery. However, Nefand didn't want to apply himself, and even after years of tutelage, he was far behind the level of his peers. This frustrated Afen greatly, who reconsidered leaving his estate to Nefand, and chose instead to give it to his apprentice, Nyef. Nefand still took private lessons from his father, even into adulthood, until Nyef attempted to kill Afen and the resulting injury forced Afen to retire. Afen could tell that he was dying, so he issued a challenge to his two stepsons. Being a slaveowner, Afen had orchestrated an upcoming raid on some nearby villages. The challenge was that Nefand and Ulito would be assigned half of the men and lead the raid in their stepfather's place. The one with greater loot by the end won the birthright. Raid of Atorcoppe and the Rolvena Village Nefand and Ulito both accepted the challenge, and led the band of raiders into the mountains to the village of Atorcoppe where they proceeded to capture residents and plunder the town. In the ferocity of the competition, both brothers proceeded with their men to the Black Vena village where, again, they plundered and raided. After the second raid was over, the brothers discovered that they had roughly the same amount of plunder. Desparate, and knowing that some of the residents of the villages had escaped into the mountains, they urged their men onward. However, the men were tired and annoyed as it was. They left, taking the slaves and plunder with them to the Black City. Nefand promised them Afen's wrath if the raiders sold anything before he returned. Taking chains and supplies, the brothers searched the forest for signs of the escaped villagers. After a couple of days, they found Naya and Rii who were unable to travel because Naya had just given birth to Ha'rai. In spite of their weakness, the vena were able to outrun the humans for a considerable distance. When the brothers overcame them, however, they all fought. Naya and Rii, as well as another vena, Vata who had heard the calls for help, were killed; and Nefand was badly wounded on his right leg. Ulito bound the wound, and carried Nefand through the wilderness toward the Black City, until they found a small house. There, they stayed for a few days while recovering. The house's owner, Kuori discovered them and they attacked and killed him. They returned the rest of the way to the City, where Nefand's leg had to be amputated. Sorcerer Student In spite of Ulito's heroics, Nefand was awarded the victory in the contest, and was given the birthright. All of the slaves captured during the raid were given to Nefand. Shortly thereafter, Afen died, leaving Nefand with a considerable estate and a steady income from his slaves. He continued to passively study sorcery but never made much progress.